DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the expansion was made possible by funding from the recently passed “Big Beautiful Bill,” which increased federal support for the 287(g) immigration enforcement program and added resources for up to 80,000 new ICE detention beds across the country.
“COMING SOON to Nebraska: Cornhusker Clink,” Noem said in a statement. “We’re announcing a new partnership to expand detention capacity by 280 beds. Thanks to Governor Pillen for helping us remove the worst of the worst from our country. If you’re in America illegally, you could find yourself in Nebraska’s Cornhusker Clink.
Noem also encouraged undocumented migrants to use the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to voluntarily return to their countries, saying, “Avoid arrest and self-deport now.”
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen welcomed the move, saying the McCook facility and its staff would support federal efforts to detain and remove criminal non-citizens.
“I’m pleased our team in McCook can assist our federal partners in protecting our homeland by housing criminal illegal aliens currently roaming our communities,” Pillen said. He also confirmed the Nebraska State Patrol and National Guard will support ICE operations in the state.
“Homeland security starts at home,” Pillen added. “Just as I deployed troops to the southern border under the failed Biden administration, Nebraska will continue to do its part.”
The McCook facility is one of several new DHS partnerships launched in recent months as ICE works to more than double its detention capacity by the end of 2025. According to federal documents obtained by The Washington Post, ICE plans to expand from roughly 50,000 detention beds at the end of the Biden administration to over 107,000 by December 2025.
This expansion includes facilities in states with little prior ICE presence, as well as temporary “soft-sided” structures such as tents. Private prison contractors Geo Group and CoreCivic have received new federal contracts to help meet the growing demand.
Texas, Louisiana, California, Georgia, and Arizona currently hold the highest concentration of detention beds, though additional sites are planned in Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Mississippi, and more than 30 other states and territories.
In July, DHS announced a $1.26 billion project to construct a 5,000-bed detention center at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas. The facility will serve as a deportation hub due to its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border and access to air transport. Other new facilities are being planned for Indiana’s Camp Atterbury and New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Trump administration officials argue that expanded detention and deportation are more cost-effective than the long-term costs of illegal immigration. In April, DHS estimated that the $45 billion allocated for detention expansion is outweighed by the $150 billion annual cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers.
According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the net annual cost of illegal immigration — even after accounting for tax contributions — is approximately $8,776 per undocumented migrant or U.S.-born child of migrants.
